A Journey Through Time: The Most Popular Books and Songs from 1960 to 2024
- Karmin Walker
- Jul 14, 2024
- 5 min read
Welcome to our nostalgic journey through time, where we explore the most popular books and songs of each year from 1960 to 2024. This list captures the cultural zeitgeist of each year, highlighting the literary and musical masterpieces that have left a lasting impact on our hearts and minds.
1960s
1960
- Book: "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee
- Song: "Theme from A Summer Place" by Percy Faith
1961
- Book: "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
- Song: "Tossin' and Turnin'" by Bobby Lewis
1962
- Book: "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
- Song: "Stranger on the Shore" by Acker Bilk
1963
- Book: "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath
- Song: "Sugar Shack" by Jimmy Gilmer and The Fireballs
1964
- Book: "Herzog" by Saul Bellow
- Song: "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles
1965
- Book: "Dune" by Frank Herbert
- Song: "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by The Rolling Stones
1966
- Book: "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
- Song: "The Ballad of the Green Berets" by Sgt. Barry Sadler
1967
- Book: "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
- Song: "To Sir With Love" by Lulu
1968
- Book: "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
- Song: "Hey Jude" by The Beatles
1969
- Book: "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut
- Song: "Sugar, Sugar" by The Archies
1970s
1970
- Book: "Love Story" by Erich Segal
- Song: "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon & Garfunkel
1971
- Book: "The Exorcist" by William Peter Blatty
- Song: "Joy to the World" by Three Dog Night
1972
- Book: "Watership Down" by Richard Adams
- Song: "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" by Roberta Flack
1973
- Book: "Gravity's Rainbow" by Thomas Pynchon
- Song: "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" by Tony Orlando and Dawn
1974
- Book: "Jaws" by Peter Benchley
- Song: "The Way We Were" by Barbra Streisand
1975
- Book: "Ragtime" by E.L. Doctorow
- Song: "Love Will Keep Us Together" by Captain & Tennille
1976
- Book: "Interview with the Vampire" by Anne Rice
- Song: "Silly Love Songs" by Wings
1977
- Book: "The Silmarillion" by J.R.R. Tolkien
- Song: "Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)" by Rod Stewart
1978
- Book: "Chesapeake" by James A. Michener
- Song: "Shadow Dancing" by Andy Gibb
1979
- Book: "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams
- Song: "My Sharona" by The Knack
1980s
1980
- Book: "The Bourne Identity" by Robert Ludlum
- Song: "Call Me" by Blondie
1981
- Book: "Cujo" by Stephen King
- Song: "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes
1982
- Book: "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker
- Song: "Physical" by Olivia Newton-John
1983
- Book: "The Little Drummer Girl" by John le Carré
- Song: "Every Breath You Take" by The Police
1984
- Book: "The Talisman" by Stephen King and Peter Straub
- Song: "When Doves Cry" by Prince
1985
- Book: "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card
- Song: "Careless Whisper" by Wham!
1986
- Book: "It" by Stephen King
- Song: "That's What Friends Are For" by Dionne Warwick and Friends
1987
- Book: "Beloved" by Toni Morrison
- Song: "Walk Like an Egyptian" by The Bangles
1988
- Book: "The Satanic Verses" by Salman Rushdie
- Song: "Faith" by George Michael
1989
- Book: "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan
- Song: "Look Away" by Chicago
1990s
1990
- Book: "Jurassic Park" by Michael Crichton
- Song: "Hold On" by Wilson Phillips
1991
- Book: "Outlander" by Diana Gabaldon
- Song: "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" by Bryan Adams
1992
- Book: "The Pelican Brief" by John Grisham
- Song: "End of the Road" by Boyz II Men
1993
- Book: "The Bridges of Madison County" by Robert James Waller
- Song: "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston
1994
- Book: "The Chamber" by John Grisham
- Song: "The Sign" by Ace of Base
1995
- Book: "The Horse Whisperer" by Nicholas Evans
- Song: "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio
1996
- Book: "Infinite Jest" by David Foster Wallace
- Song: "Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)" by Los Del Rio
1997
- Book: "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" by J.K. Rowling
- Song: "Candle in the Wind 1997/Something About the Way You Look Tonight" by Elton John
1998
- Book: "The Street Lawyer" by John Grisham
- Song: "Too Close" by Next
1999
- Book: "The Testament" by John Grisham
- Song: "Believe" by Cher
2000s
2000
- Book: "The Brethren" by John Grisham
- Song: "Breathe" by Faith Hill
2001
- Book: "The Corrections" by Jonathan Franzen
- Song: "Hanging by a Moment" by Lifehouse
2002
- Book: "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold
- Song: "How You Remind Me" by Nickelback
2003
- Book: "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown
- Song: "In Da Club" by 50 Cent
2004
- Book: "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" by Mitch Albom
- Song: "Yeah!" by Usher featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris
2005
- Book: "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
- Song: "We Belong Together" by Mariah Carey
2006
- Book: "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy
- Song: "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter
2007
- Book: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
- Song: "Irreplaceable" by Beyoncé
2008
- Book: "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins
- Song: "Low" by Flo Rida featuring T-Pain
2009
- Book: "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
- Song: "Boom Boom Pow" by The Black Eyed Peas
2010s
2010
- Book: "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larsson
- Song: "Tik Tok" by Kesha
2011
- Book: "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins
- Song: "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele
2012
- Book: "Fifty Shades of Grey" by E.L. James
- Song: "Somebody That I Used to Know" by Gotye featuring Kimbra
2013
- Book: "The Goldfinch" by Donna Tartt
- Song: "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell
2014
- Book: "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green
- Song: "Happy" by Pharrell Williams
2015
- Book: "Go Set a Watchman" by Harper Lee
- Song: "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars
2016
- Book: "The Underground Railroad" by Colson Whitehead
- Song: "Love Yourself" by Justin Bieber
2017
- Book: "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
- Song: "Shape of You" by Ed Sheeran
2018
- Book: "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
- Song: "God's Plan" by Drake
2019
- Book: "Where the Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens
- Song: "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus
2020s
2020
- Book: "The Vanishing Half" by Brit Bennett
- Song: "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd
2021
- Book: "The Four Winds" by Kristin Hannah
- Song: "Levitating" by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby
2022
- Book: "It Ends with Us" by Colleen Hoover
- Song: "As It Was" by Harry Styles
2023
- Book: "Lessons in Chemistry" by Bonnie Garmus
- Song: "Flowers" by Miley Cyrus
2024
- Book: "The Covenant of Water" by Abraham Verghese
- Song: "Kill Bill" by SZA
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